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Chapter 10: Which one is Cassie?

Julian and I entered the orphanage. Apparently, he had done all the settlements with the people there by saying that we were doing a school "project." One of the caretakers did look at us suspiciously but let us go.

We were led to a huge living room. There was a small fireplace in the corner with a burning fire. Small kids aging between five and ten were running around, playing board games, hide and seek, and other activities such as doing each other's hair. There was a feeling of excitement and warmness in the room. I looked at the kids who instantly stopped doing what they were doing when they saw Julian and I.

One caretaker helped us out.

"Boy and girls, this is Julian and Cassie. They're just here to look around and see how all you kids are doing," she said, not meeting anyone's eyes. After repeating some basic social manners, she left Julian and I alone to deal with the kids.

Great.

"Which one of you is Cassie?" a young blonde girl asked us.

I cracked a smile at her innocence. She was serious about the question, and she wasn't the only one. Some other kids looked at us for an answer.

I turned to Julian, who for once had a frown on his face.

"Cassie is a girl name," Julian replied for the both of us.

"Oh, okay. Nice to meet you. Do you wanna play hide-n-seek?" The same girl asked with an excited smile.

"No," I answered. I received a disappointed look from the majority of the kids. It did make me guilty, but I was way too old to play these childish games.

"Yes!" said Julian.

I scowled at him. He shrugged. "Are you sane?" I asked in a low tone.

"I'm only trying to be nice," he whispered back, leaning slightly towards me. "Something you should try."

"Never worked out for me," I mumbled.

"Last one to the door is it!" someone yelled.

A huge roar of squeals and squeaks from the kids were heard as they stormed past me towards the door.

"Oh look, Cassie, you're 'it'," Julian said, his voice distant.

Confused, I turned around and found all the kids and Julian near the door.

"You've got to be kidding me. I' not an 'it' nor am I playing," I said in a stern tone. The last person I played such games with left me out of nowhere, and after that, I lost all interest in everything.

"Aw," a bunch of kids said disappointed.

"Julian, tell your girlfriend to play!" some girl squeaked. I sat down on the couch and looked at the person who said that. I narrowed my eyes at the same blonde girl from before.

"I'm not his girlfriend," I said quickly.

"Yet," Julian added and the kids giggled.

Or never.

I leaned back on the couch and stared at the ceiling. I didn't know why I was wasting my time doing this.

"Hey, Julian, we're here for a 'project,'" I muttered.

"Oh yeah," I heard Julian say. He got distracted so very easily. "Ladies and gentleman, Cassie and I have a couple of questions for you. If you answer them honestly, we'll play hide-n-seek," Julian announced.

"I have a question," someone said.

I turned my attention to Julian's troupe.

"Yes?" Julian said with a gentle smile.

"Are they gonna be hard?" a small boy with dark brown curls asked.

"Not at all," said Julian, showing his dimples.

"Okay, can we do it fast so we can play?" the same boy asked.

"Definitely," I said in agreement. I really wanted to get this over with as fast as possible.

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"At what age did you join this place?" Julian asked.

"I was four!"

"I was three!"

"Last year!"

And a bunch of "when I was little," burst out. I had to admit, that was funny. The oldest kid here was ten. I sat and thought about it. These kids obviously hadn't any clue regarding the reason behind our project.

"Do you like it here?" Julian asked the second question.

The kids looked around and at each other. They seemed to be hiding something.

"Not really," someone said from the back.

There were murmurs of agreement.

"Why not?" I asked solemnly.

"We don't get a lot of food."

"Yeah! And I don't like the beds!"

"The teachers are mean!"

"I miss mommy."

Julian and I immediately looked at the person who said that. It was the blonde girl from before. She sat with her head down.

"Mommy?" I asked, not knowing what exactly to say.

"Mommy left me here. I wanted to live with her. She said it would be safer here, and she would come back. But she didn't." I heard small sobs coming from her.

Julian looked at me and gave me an encouraging nod to go to the girl. I shook my head. I wasn't the best person to sympathize. He literally pushed me towards the girl's direction. Stumbling, I ended up next to her and plopped down.

Awkwardly, I patted the girl's back as she cried. She was barely seven or eight and left here.

Some parents were so ridiculous.

At least, mine had the decency to raise me.

So, they had someone to take care of their business.

The girl shifted and hugged me. She simply needed someone to hold her. And as much as I didn't want to be there, I wanted to be there for her. We all need someone to hold us when we are grieving. Too bad my someone left me after almost eight years. Didn't it occur to him that maybe I might need him once I entered high school?

Why, Brandon, why?

I shook my head at the memories that were threatening to come back.

Everyone was staring at us two. Julian's face was tilted and expressionless as he sat on a chair in front of everyone. Not wanting to ask anything further, we decided to wrap things up. Most of the kids had turned downcast.

"Alright. Well, I am done with the questioning," I told him. I didn't want kids crying because of us. How much hugging and patting could two people do?

"I miss mommy," the girl cried and the other kids joined her.

"I want Daddy!"

"Mama!"

"Granny."

A bunch of other family members was mentioned. The kids were getting sadder and sadder.

"Julian--" I began.

Suddenly, the door flew open. Two of the caretakers walked in chattering amongst themselves. When they saw the room's atmosphere, they fell silent. They gave us skeptical looks. I had a feeling we were going to get kicked out.

"What happened?" One of them asked.

"Um . . . he made them cry," I said, nodding my head towards Julian.

He gave me a flat look. Well, he did make the kids bawl.

"Out! Out, both of you!"

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Julian and I stood outside the orphanage, disappointed.

The caretakers banned us both from entering the orphanage ever again, even after I told them I was Cassandra Evans.

Our houses weren't that far away, so Julian and I walked.

"Julian, you're a terrible person," I said breaking the silence. I felt somewhat proud because usually, people said this statement to me.

"I know," he admitted sadly.

I shrugged, "Well, at least you're aware."

"Hypocrite."

"Oh I already know I have an awful personality and I've accepted it."

He gave me a flat look and said, "Such an achievement. Anyways, what did you think?"

"Think of what?"

"The kids and how lonely they were," he answered immediately.

"Julian, don't take this personally, but you're being narrow minded. You're only seeing what you want to see. I am not denying how much they craved for their parents and families. But did you see that their parents were the ones who left them?" I asked him.

He was quiet for a couple of minutes.

"I see your point, but Cassie, you must see mine as well. These children loved--love their families," he insisted.

"Well, apparently, the feelings didn't turn out to be mutual as seeing they'are in an orphanage," I retorted.

We were almost home.

I could see my house's front gates about twenty feet away. Crowell mansion was just down the road.

"Fair enough. Let's come back to that later. I wanted to ask you about your own family," he said looking at me.

I kept my eyes on the sidewalk.

"Oh my family's fantastic. We all have breakfast, lunch, and dinner together. Cate, Jimmy, and I get along so well. My parents are the ideal parents. Mom makes us food and takes good care of us. Dad and her reprimand us when needed. They keep us three siblings in line. Everything's perfect," I replied with heavy sarcasm.

"Really? But I read the newspaper and your sister," he didn't dare finish the sentence.

I snorted. My anger inside was rising.

"Of course not. Cate's a little spoiled brat who needs to learn to behave. She's getting out of hand not that I blame her. Jimmy is too busy with college, and when he comes back, he just wants a peaceful time. Time that only includes him and Cate because she's the young, 'neglected' child who needs all the attention in the world. My parents just don't care. They left our little babysitter, Petrina, to take care of us. That should be enough to fill in their missing time. The business is way more important and my grades. Why? Because Sandy Evans will be taking over the business empire. Her brother isn't interested in that field. It's all about the future," I said angrily.

Julian blinked at me with raised eyebrows.

I couldn't believe I had just ranted about my family life in front of him.

Strangers understand most.

Shaking, my head, I found that we were standing in front of my house.

"You know, Cassie, nobody's perfect. I'm sorry to hear that you have been neglected for so long," said Julian solemnly.

"Just forget it. I was too aggravated when I said that," I mumbled.

"Now, I understand better about your behavior. I can help you," he said. What was he? A psychologist?

"No, you can't. Don't even bother," I told him. The only person who could help me left.

No need to find a replacement.

"Cassie, Cassie, Cassie," Julian said in a amused voice, "I won't give up on you. Just enjoy your evening, and I'll see you at school tomorrow."

It's been a long while since someone said they won't give up on me.

I said nothing.

He waved goodbye. A boyish smile came over his features as he turned around.

"Wait!" I said quickly as another thought popped up in my mind.

He turned back around with a confused look. "Yes?"

"What about your family?"

"What about them?"

I rolled my eyes and elaborated, "How's your family situation? I blurted out mine."

"I'll tell you some time. Not today. See you later," he said and walked backwards. "I'm more concerned about your situation," he called. I didn't say anything. "You need a smile on that beautiful face of yours not sorrow." He winked before waving me a small goodbye.

Lightly, I smiled.

Although he was overloaded with sickening sweetness, it wasn't a horrible trait sometimes.

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A/N

Whatya think?

Rate the chapter from 1-5. 5 being awesome, 4 being pretty good, 3- decent, alright, 2- could have some more material, 1- you better go back and change some of this (you refers to me as the author)

Be as honest as possible! It will help me improve!

And I am sorry but I dont know of any perfect families in real life, so its hard for me to write about them. This includes my own family.

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